Web site is woman's plea for debt relief money

A 20-something New Yorker charged up her credit card bill paying for Prada pumps and Burberry bags before she curbed her consumer-driven impulses and found herself $20,000 in debt.

To tackle her bills, she created a cyberbegging Web site that has people waffling over whether to admire her creativity or admonish her financial recklessness. After launching SaveKaryn.com less than two months ago, Karyn has received $3,000 in handouts and is still counting.

Karyn declined to give her last name, citing safety reasons. She said she will "come out" once she reaches the $20,000 goal.

The home page of her Web site states: "Hello! My name is Karyn, I'm really nice, and I'm asking for your help! You see, I have this huge credit card debt and I need $20,000 to pay it off. So if you have an extra buck or two, please send it my way!"

She got the idea for the Web site after seeing a flier posted at a grocery store by someone asking for $7,000.

Karyn admits that her debt was a self-indulgent mistake.

"I was living it up--manicures, pedicures, bikini waxes, Gucci, a personal trainer twice a week, too much Starbucks--and it was adding up," she said in a telephone interview. "I thought I could afford it at the time because I was making good money. I work in television production and lost my job and couldn't get a job for four months. The next job, I was making half of what I made at the original job."

Not everyone approves of her Internet panhandling. About half of her e-mail messages are mean or threatening, she said. "Some are really disgusting."

She said she is surprised that people are put off by her efforts, because she never pretended to want to save the world, just herself.

"I'm not going to make up a sob story just to get your sympathy," she said. "I'm being honest. This is what I did. I spent too much on frivolous stuff and now I owe money. I'm just trying to make light of a situation that sucks. Obviously, don't give money to me before giving to your charity."

Quirky schemes

Cynthia Pharr, owner of the marketing and public relations firm C. Pharr and Co. of Addison, Texas, said the Internet is a strong medium for quirky, money-grabbing schemes. For instance, some people have used Web sites to ask for money in exchange for naming a baby after the donor.

"It's another example of marketing spun out of control," Pharr said. "It's a stunt, and it's distasteful."

Pharr said Karyn's donors might appreciate her honest, unapologetic approach in an age of failed business ethics. She said Karyn's purchases are not as excessive as some made public recently about business executives, including one who charged stockholders $6,000 for a shower curtain.

"We have a crisis in business ethics everywhere, so maybe they find her honesty refreshing," she said. "Even though it's strange and weird, at least she's honest."

The Web site has drawn the ire of two software engineers, Bob and Ben from Ohio, who created a parody of Karyn's Web site at DontSaveKaryn.com.

Ben and Bob, who won't reveal their last names either, said they want to point out the irony of donating to a person who spent so self-adoringly. They compete for the donations and plan to post photos of themselves wasting it. Their home page has a photo of a leech and states, "Together, we can banish financially irresponsible losers from the Internet."

Bob and Ben said they have received $26 and have yet to decide how to waste the money. They're considering burning it or buying some Prada pumps and burning those.

"That's pretty pathetic that people would give her money. She's begging for money, and the people giving her money are probably guys," Ben said. "I don't think she's inherently a bad person, I just don't think she's thought about what she's doing, which is essentially not taking responsibility for life."

Sites grab attention

Karyn said she finds the parody Web site funny. The dueling sites have grabbed the attention of some talk show hosts, movie houses and book publishers.

Some regulars to SaveKaryn.com say the self-imposed drama is riveting and they enjoy Karyn's self-deprecating sense of humor.

"It's hysterical," said Clare Dempsey, 25, of Dallas. "I don't think she seriously thinks people are going to pay off her debt. I like hearing about how she's going to put her cat on the junky cat food. I think stuff like that is highly entertaining. It's just funny."

The site offers a voyeuristic view of Karyn's financial woes through her daily diary and debt tally that itemizes donations and online sales of her possessions. The site also has a link to some of the 3,000 e-mail messages Karyn has received and her responses.

Most of the donations come in $5 bills. Her biggest came from three people at $100 each.

"People who are giving me money are really nice," she said. "They say stuff like, `I've been in your situation before' and `Keep up the good work,' or they say, `Your Web site made me laugh, so here's a couple of bucks.' When you owe money, it's embarrassing and you feel alone. It's comforting that I'm not the only person."

Karyn said her Midwestern parents recently found out about her Web site. She said her mother understood but her father couldn't get past the sticker shock of the $20,000 debt. "My dad is a little conservative. He doesn't think you should buy anything unless you pay for it first."

Companies have approached her about advertising on the site, she said, but for now she is not interested.

"This is neat and fun and I just want to keep it simple," she said. "I just want to see if it works with people helping."